The RBS Group – 83 per cent taxpayer owned – will no doubt see the IT meltdown as a disaster. Reports of other providers, particularly building societies, having an unusual high surge of new custom for current accounts will no doubt be slightly worrying to the big boys.

I'm not saying that RBS-NatWest and Barclays are totally bad institutions.

Yes, there was a human error at RBS-NatWest which was unfortunate to say the least – but mistakes do happen.

And a few bad eggs at Barclays shouldn’t undo the hard work that has been put into the bank by hundreds of thousands of proud Barclays staff over the years to build it up as a British financial juggernaut.

Two building societies, Nationwide and Norwich &
Peterborough, have reported a huge surge in new current account
customers.

Ethical
bank Co-operative is also seeing an uplift in customers. It’s apparent
that people appear to be getting sick of their bank and voting with
their feet.

Do you know your branch manager?

I also took a look at two very different banks that have an entirely different ethos - Handelsbanken and Metro Bank.

They are much more about face-to-face customer interaction in
branch rather than ‘faceless banking’.

This traditional model may appeal
to customers who want a better relationship with their branch manager - a more 'personal' touch.

How many of you reading this, for example, know the name of your branch
manager and have a relationship with him/her?

One thing that stood out with me with
Handelsbanken, for example, is the fact it doesn’t have a call centre.
You actually deal with problems in the branch directly – and I think
this is refreshing.

And
a big bonus with Metro Bank is the fact they can open an account the
same day and issue you the card as you wait. This feels like a far cry
from some of the hoops you have had to jump through in the past to open an
account with ‘bigger’ banks.

Other options: Swedish Handelsbanken and newcomer Metro Bank offer an alternative to the 'big' boys

Switching
account is not something that most of us have done or are accustomed to
– in fact, it’s estimated that fewer than 10 per cent of people ever
switch.

This is a ludicrously low amount considering all of the scandals
that have blighted banks in recent years and the relative ease of
switching. So could now be the time that people are finally tempted to
switch?

If you have
found yourself cursing RBS-NatWest for not being able to access your
money in recent weeks or are annoyed at Barclays for its shameful Libor
fixing practices, maybe it is time to ditch your bank.

Don’t keep at it
like an ugly marriage, it might be time to trade in for a newer,
younger and nicer model. One that will treat you with respect and puts you, the customer, first.

It will be interesting to see what RBS-NatWest, for example, does to retain loyal customers - and if it will offer any incentives to minimise the damage.

But for smaller banks and building societies, the time is now ripe for them to reap the rewards from incompetence shown by some of the 'bigger' banks.